Early life

Daniel Louis Castellaneta was born on October 29, 1957 at Roseland Community Hospital on Chicago's south side and was raised in River Forest and Oak Park, Illinois.[1][2][3] He is of Italian descent, born to Elsie (née Lagorio; 1926–2008) and Louis Castellaneta (1915–2014).[4] Louis Castellaneta was an amateur actor who worked for a printing company.[5]

Castellaneta studied art education, with the goal of becoming an art teacher.[5] He became a student teacher and would entertain his students with his impressions.[2][5] Castellaneta was a regular participant in The Ron Petke and His Dead Uncle Show, a radio show at NIU. The show helped Castellaneta hone his skills as a voice-over actor. He recalled "We did parodies and sketches, we would double up on, so you learned to switch between voices. I got my feet wet doing voiceover. The show was just barely audible, but we didn't care. It was the fact that we got a chance to do it and write our own material."[7] He took a play-writing class and auditioned for an improvisational show. A classmate first thought Castellaneta would "fall on his face with improvisation" but soon "was churning out material faster than [they] could make it work."[7]

Career

Early career

Castellaneta started acting after his graduation from Northern Illinois University in 1979. He decided that if his career went nowhere he would still have a chance to try something else.[5] He began taking improvisation classes, where he met his future wife Deb Lacusta. He started to work at The Second City, an improvisational theatre in Chicago, in 1983 and continued to work there until 1987.[2] During this period, he did voice-over work with his wife for various radio stations.[5]

He auditioned for a role in The Tracey Ullman Show and his first meeting underwhelmed Tracey Ullman and the other producers. Ullman decided to fly to Chicago to watch Castellaneta perform. His performance that night was about a blind man who tries to become a comedian and Ullman later recalled that although there were flashier performances that night, Castellaneta made her cry. She was impressed and Castellaneta was hired.[2]

The Simpsons

Castellaneta is most famous for his role as Homer Simpson on the longest running animated television show The Simpsons. The Tracey Ullman Show included a series of animated shorts about a dysfunctional family. Voices were needed for the shorts, so the producers decided to ask Castellaneta and fellow cast member Julie Kavner to voice Homer and Marge Simpson rather than hire more actors.[5][8] Homer's voice began as a loose impression of Walter Matthau, but Castellaneta could not "get enough power behind that voice" and could not sustain his Matthau impression for the nine- to ten-hour long recording sessions.[9]

He tried to find something easier, so he "dropped the voice down", and developed it into a more versatile and humorous voice during the second and third season of the half-hour show.[2] Castellaneta's normal speaking voice has no similarity to Homer's.[10] To perform Homer's voice, Castellaneta lowers his chin to his chest,[5] and is said to "let his IQ go."[11]

Castellaneta likes to stay in character during recording sessions,[12] and tries to visualize a scene in his mind so that he can give the proper voice to it.[13] Despite Homer's fame, Castellaneta claims he is rarely recognized in public, "except, maybe, by a die-hard fan."[12]

Castellaneta first tried using Hispanic voicing, which Simon felt was too clichéd. He then tried a "big dumb Swede", which was also rejected. For his third try, he used the voice of a grumpy Scotsman, which was deemed appropriate enough and was used in the episode.[16] The voice was based partially on Angus Crock, a kilt-wearing chef from the sketch comedy show Second City Television, who was portrayed by Dave Thomas.[17] Mayor Quimby, who first appeared in "Bart Gets an F", is a parody of various members of the Kennedy family. The episode script did not call for Quimby to be a parody of them, and Castellaneta improvised the accent.[18] Sideshow Mel's voice is Castellaneta's impression of Kelsey Grammer, the voice of Sideshow Bob.[19] Gil is a spoof of actor Jack Lemmon's portrayal of Shelley Levene in the 1992 film adaptation of the play Glengarry Glen Ross.[20] Show runner Mike Scully thought that Gil would be "a one-shot thing"[21] but "Dan Castellaneta was so funny at the table read doing the character, we kept making up excuses in subsequent episodes to put him in."[20] The Blue-Haired Lawyer's voice, as well as his demeanor, is based on lawyer Roy Cohn.[22]

In 1993, Castellaneta was given a special Annie Award, "Outstanding Individual Achievement in the Field of Animation", for his work as Homer on The Simpsons.[26][27]

In 2004, Castellaneta and Julie Kavner (the voice of Marge) won a Young Artist Award for "Most Popular Mom & Dad in a TV Series".[28] Homer was placed second on TV Guide's 2002 Top 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters,[29] and in 2000, Homer and the rest of the Simpson family were awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard.[30]

Until 1998, Castellaneta was paid $30,000 per episode.[31] During a pay dispute in 1998, Fox threatened to replace the six main voice actors with new actors, going as far as preparing for casting of new voices.[31] The dispute was soon resolved and he received $125,000 per episode until 2004 when the voice actors demanded that they be paid $360,000 an episode.[31] The issue was resolved a month later,[32] and Castellaneta earned $250,000 per episode.[33]

After salary re-negotiations in 2008, the voice actors received approximately $400,000 per episode.[34] Three years later, with Fox threatening to cancel the series unless production costs were cut, Castellaneta and the other cast members accepted a 25 percent pay cut, down to over $300,000 per episode.[35]

Further career

Castellaneta has been a regular cast member in several other television series. In 1991, he played Warren Morris in the short-lived ABC live-action sitcom Sibs.[40] Heide Perlman, creator of Sibs, wrote the part with Castellaneta in mind.[41]

On February 22, 2000, his first music CD Two Lips was published.[53] It was followed on April 23, 2002 by his first comedy CD, I Am Not Homer, in which he and his wife perform several comedy skits. The majority of the sketches had been written and performed before the CD was recorded, and Castellaneta thought that it would be a good idea to preserve them "since [he and Lacusta] don't perform them much anymore."[54]

Some came from their sketch series on a local radio station in Chicago and had to be lengthened from the "two-minute bits" that they were originally, while several others were stage sketches performed in a comedy club in Santa Monica.[55] Additionally, "Citizen Kane", a sketch in which two people discuss the film Citizen Kane with different meanings, was something the pair had performed at an art gallery.[55] Castellaneta noted that "we already knew that these skits were funny, [but] some of them we polished and tightened."[55] The skits were principally written by improvising from a basic point, transcribing the results and then editing them to the finished scene.[55] Castellaneta chose the title I Am Not Homer as a parody of Leonard Nimoy's famous first autobiography I Am Not Spock, as well as to show that most of the comedy featured "is not the typical Homer comedy."[54]

Alongside his television and film work, Castellaneta has appeared in a number of theatrical productions. In 1992, he starred in Deb & Dan's Show alongside his wife.[56] In 1995, Castellaneta started writing Where Did Vincent van Gogh?, a one man play in which he portrays a dozen different characters, including artist Vincent van Gogh.[57] He first officially performed the play at the ACME Comedy Theatre in Los Angeles in 1999.[10] In 2007, he appeared in The Bicycle Men at King's Head Theatre in London.[58]

Castellaneta hosted the final of New York comedy show Thrills and Spills on December 31, 2015. The final was held in Montgomery, Alabama.

Barnard Arnold "Barney" Gumble is a recurring character in the American animated TV series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire".

Barney is the town drunk of Springfield and Homer Simpson's best friend. His desperation for alcohol is a frequent butt of jokes on the show, though Barney sobered up in the Season 11 episode "Days of Wine and D'oh'ses". Barney was inspired by the cartoon character Barney Rubble from The Flintstones and by several barflies from other television programs. In 2004, Castellaneta won an Emmy Award for voicing various characters, including Barney.

Barney can be seen in The Simpsons opening credits since 2009, passed out under a pile of leaves (but still holding his beloved bottle of Duff Beer) and being awoken by Bart Simpson skateboarding over his stomach, causing him to let out his trademark burp.

"Citizen Joe" is the fifteenth episode for season eight of the Canadian-American military science fiction television series Stargate SG-1. The episode features known voice actor Dan Castellaneta, who voices Homer Simpson in The Simpsons. The episode was written by executive producer Robert C. Cooper, the episode was directed by Andy Mikita. The episode received a below average Nielsen household rating and received no syndication rating to compare. The episode got strong reviews from major media publishers worldwide.

"Citizen Joe" follows an Indiana barber (portrayed by Dan Castellaneta) who carries the Ancient Technology Activation gene (ATA Gene) and has his life ruined when, through an Ancient device, he begins to have visions of SG-1's missions from season one to season eight. His life is given back to him when Jack O'Neill informs his nearly divorced wife of what had been going on. This episode is a clip show.

The following is a complete filmography of the actor Dan Castellaneta. Active since the 1980s, Castellaneta has appeared in numerous films, television series and video games. Along with his live-action work, he has often worked as a voice actor, including for his longest-running role as Homer Simpson in the animated sitcom The Simpsons. Castellaneta has also written six episodes of the show with his wife Deb Lacusta, and has won three Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Voice-Over Performance for it.

Go Simpsonic with The Simpsons is the 1999 soundtrack album from The Simpsons. It takes many of the musical numbers from the series which were either not included in the previous album, Songs in the Key of Springfield, or were created since the previous album's release. The album has 53 tracks, most of which were written by Alf Clausen. It was well received by critics, being named the Best Compilation Album of 1999 by Soundtrack.net, and charted at number 197 on the Billboard 200.

Abraham Jebediah "Abe" Simpson II, better known as Grampa Simpson, is a main character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He made his first appearance in the episode entitled "Grampa and the Kids", a one-minute Simpsons short on The Tracey Ullman Show, before the debut of the television show in 1989.

Grampa Simpson is voiced by Dan Castellaneta, who also voices his son, Homer Simpson. He is also the grandfather of Bart, Lisa and Maggie Simpson. In the 1000th issue of Entertainment Weekly, Grampa was selected as the Grandpa for "The Perfect TV Family". Grampa Simpson is a World War II veteran and retired farmer who was later sent to the Springfield Retirement Castle by Homer. He is known for his long, rambling, often incoherent and irrelevant stories and senility.

Dr. William MacDougal, better known as Groundskeeper Willie, is a recurring character on The Simpsons, voiced by Dan Castellaneta. He is the head groundskeeper at Springfield Elementary School. Willie is almost feral in nature and is immensely proud of his Scottish origin. He is easily identifiable by his red hair and beard, as well as his aggressive temperament and thick, unrealistic Scottish accent.

I Am Not Homer is a 2002 comedy album by actor and comedian Dan Castellaneta, with additional input by his wife Deb Lacusta. The album is a collection of comedy sketches written and performed by Castellaneta and Lacusta, and was the follow-up to Castellaneta's previous all-music album Two Lips. The title of the album is a reference to Leonard Nimoy's first autobiography, I Am Not Spock, and a majority of the sketches were material that the pair had used before in their careers.

Kang and Kodos Johnson are a duo of fictional recurring characters in the animated television series The Simpsons. Kang is voiced by Harry Shearer and Kodos by Dan Castellaneta. They are green, octopus-like aliens from the fictional planet Rigel VII and appear almost exclusively in the "Treehouse of Horror" episodes. The duo has appeared in at least one segment of all twenty-eight Treehouse of Horror episodes. Sometimes their appearance is the focus of a plot, other times a brief cameo. Kang and Kodos are often bent on the conquest of Earth and are usually seen working on sinister plans to invade and subjugate humanity.

The duo first appeared in season two's "Treehouse of Horror". The first drawing of Kang and Kodos came from writers Jay Kogen and Wallace Wolodarsky. The finished design was based on an EC Comics issue cover. Kang and Kodos had brief cameo appearances in several non-"Treehouse of Horror" episodes and have appeared as villains in several of The Simpsons video games.

“Kiss Kiss, Bang Bangalore” is the seventeenth episode of the seventeenth season of The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 9, 2006. Dan Castellaneta & Deb Lacusta were nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award for Outstanding Writing in Animation at the 59th Writers Guild of America Awards for their script to this episode.

The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom that includes six main voice actors and numerous regular cast and recurring guest stars. The principal cast consists of Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria and Harry Shearer. Chris Edgerly, Pamela Hayden, Tress MacNeille, Kevin Michael Richardson, Maggie Roswell, and Russi Taylor have appeared as supporting cast members, along with former supporting cast members Karl Wiedergott, Marcia Mitzman Gaven, Doris Grau, and Christopher Collins. Repeat guest cast members include Marcia Wallace, Albert Brooks, Phil Hartman, Jon Lovitz, Joe Mantegna and Kelsey Grammer. With one exception, episode credits list only the voice actors, and not the characters they voice.

Both Fox and the production crew wanted to keep their identities secret during the early seasons and closed most of the recording sessions while refusing to publish photos of the recording artists. The network eventually revealed which roles each actor performed in the episode "Old Money", because the producers said the voice actors should receive credit for their work. Every main cast member has won an Emmy for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance. Shearer was the last cast member to win, receiving his award in 2014 for the episode "Four Regrettings and a Funeral." Castellaneta and Azaria have won four, while Kavner, Cartwright, Smith, Shearer, Wallace, Grammer, and guest star Jackie Mason have each won one.

Along with the Simpson family, The Simpsons includes a large array of characters: co-workers, teachers, family friends, extended relatives, townspeople, local celebrities, and as well as fictional characters. The creators originally intended many of these characters as one-time jokesters or for fulfilling needed functions in the town. A number of them have gained expanded roles and subsequently starred in their own episodes. According to creator Matt Groening, the show adopted the concept of a large supporting cast from the Canadian sketch comedy show Second City Television.The main episode characters, the Simpson family, are listed first; all other characters are listed in alphabetical order. Only main, supporting, and recurring characters are listed. For one-time and other recurring characters, see List of recurring The Simpsons characters and List of one-time The Simpsons characters.

Mayor Joseph Fitzgerald O'Malley Fitzpatrick O'Donnell The Edge Quimby, nicknamed Diamond Joe, is a recurring character from the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta, and first appeared in the episode "Bart Gets an F". Quimby is the mayor of Springfield, and is a composite parody of U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy and certain other members of the Kennedy family who have entered politics.

"My Big Fat Greek Rush Week" is the second episode of the third season of the American mystery television series Veronica Mars, and the forty-sixth episode overall. Written by executive producer Diane Ruggiero and directed by John T. Kretchmer, the episode premiered on The CW on October 10, 2006.

The series depicts the adventures of Veronica Mars (Kristen Bell) as she deals with life as a college student while moonlighting as a private detective. In this episode, Veronica infiltrates the Theta Beta sorority as part of her investigation into Parker's rape. Meanwhile, the Hearst sociology teacher, Dr. Kinny (Dan Castellaneta), conducts an experiment similar to the Stanford prison experiment.

"My Big Fat Greek Rush Week" featured several notable guest stars, including appearances from Dan Castellaneta, Samm Levine, Rider Strong, and Rachelle Lefevre. In addition, David Tom returned as Chip Diller after previously appearing in the second season. The episode was watched by 2.96 million people in its initial airing and received mixed to positive reviews from television critics.

This is a list of winners and nominees of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance.

In 2014, the award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance was separated into two categories – Outstanding Narrator and Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance. As with longform and reality, this split acknowledges and accommodates a general industry uptrend in the distinctly different achievements that are VO narration and VO character performance.

The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance is a Creative Arts Emmy Award given out by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. It is awarded to a performer for an outstanding "continuing or single voice-over performance in a series or a special." Prior to 1992, voice-actors could be nominated for their performance in the live action acting categories. The award was first given in 1992 when six voice actors from The Simpsons shared the award. From 1992 to 2008, it was a juried award, so there were no nominations and there would be multiple or no recipients in one year. In 2009, the rules were changed to a category award, with five nominees.

Usually, the winner is a voice actor from an animated show, but some narrators of live action shows have won such as Keith David in 2005 and 2008. No winner was named in 1996 or 2007.Nine voice actors from The Simpsons have won a combined 14 Emmys. Of those, Dan Castellaneta has won four and Hank Azaria has won three. Ja'net Dubois has won two for The PJs, Keith David has won two for his narration of various documentaries and Maurice LaMarche has won two for Futurama. Voice actors from shows on Fox have won 17 of 27 awards.

In 2014, the category was separated into two categories – Outstanding Narrator and Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance. As with longform and reality, this split acknowledges and accommodates a general industry uptrend in the distinctly different achievements that are VO narration and VO character performance.

Sands of Oblivion is a 2007 Sci-Fi Channel original movie starring Morena Baccarin, Adam Baldwin, Victor Webster, George Kennedy, Richard Kind and Dan Castellaneta. It was directed by David Flores and premiered July 28, 2007 on the Sci Fi Channel.

"The One After the Superbowl" [sic] is a double-length episode of the American television sitcom Friends' second season. The episode premiered on NBC on January 28, 1996, as the lead-out for NBC's telecast of Super Bowl XXX. The main storyline of the episode follows Ross, who learns that his former pet monkey Marcel had been employed for a film being shot in New York City, and then tries to get a role in said film as a ploy to reunite with the monkey.

Citing previous failures in the high-profile post-Super Bowl timeslot, NBC deliberately decided against premiering a new series, and instead chose to schedule a high-profile episode of an existing, popular series. It was part of an effort by the network to achieve the "highest-grossing ad-revenue day in television history." The episode featured a large number of guest stars, including Brooke Shields, Chris Isaak, Julia Roberts, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Fred Willard, and Dan Castellaneta.

With 52.925 million viewers and a 47 percent audience share, "The One After the Superbowl" was the most-watched episode of the series, and is the highest-rated Super Bowl lead-out program of all time. The episode itself received mixed reviews, with some critics arguing that the excessive number of guest stars dampened the episode's quality (with several reviews making comparisons to The Love Boat), but others praising it for its funnier moments. Brooke Shields was considered a standout among the guest stars; impressed by her performance, NBC would cast her in the starring role of its new sitcom Suddenly Susan.

"Turf War" is the twenty-third episode of the eighth season of the American comedy television series The Office, and the show's 175th episode overall. The episode originally aired on NBC on May 3, 2012. "Turf War" was written by Warren Lieberstein and Halsted Sullivan, and was directed by Daniel Chun. The episode guest stars Chris Bauer, Andy Buckley, and Dan Castellaneta.

The series—presented as if it were a real documentary—depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania, branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. In the episode, Robert California (James Spader) drunkenly shuts down a branch in Binghamton, and Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) and Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) must outsmart a salesman, Harry Jannerone (Chris Bauer), from the Syracuse branch. Meanwhile, Andy Bernard (Ed Helms) decides to land an important client as a "rogue" and jumpstart his Dunder Mifflin comeback by using his success as leverage with Robert.

"Turf War" received mixed reviews from critics, with many criticizing the show's decision to recycle elements of the Michael Scott Paper Company fifth season story arc. "Turf War" was viewed by an estimated 4.44 million viewers and received a 2.3 rating/7% share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49. The episode ranked third in its timeslot and was also the highest-rated NBC series of the night.

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